2023 Year in Review: Forces for Good [Photo Essay]

A Burkinabe woman kneels while tending to six goats.Every day, members of the Helen Keller Intl community are choosing to be forces for good. Community health heroes, entrepreneurs, parents, youth, and Helen Keller staff work tirelessly to help improve health, nutrition, and vision for people in their[...]

Preventing Vision Loss from Diabetic Retinopathy in Bangladesh

A woman in a bright pink sari sits across the table from a bald man wearing glasses. The man points to an image of a retina on a computer screen.Nasima Khatun’s vision had been deteriorating for years. It had gotten so bad she was unable to recognize the faces of people she knew from a distance. Then one morning, the vision in her right eye suddenly became obscured by what looked like a red cloud.[...]

Clear Vision Brings True Potential into Focus

A boy with dark skin and glasses sits at a desk in a classroom surrounded by peers. He is turned toward the camera.Living with childhood cataracts meant that 10-year-old Ulrich Amassoga had never experienced clear vision before. He had difficulty in school and dealt with bullying from classmates because of his condition.  Two years ago, Helen Keller began providing[...]

Building Brighter Futures by Saving Sight

A girl with dark skin wearing a blue dress and glasses stands on a small hill overlooking an earthen building.By the time she was six years old, Treasure Winner Mafau Azemafack’s family had already fled violence three times. Originally from Fontem in Cameroon’s South West region, Treasure Winner, her parents, and three siblings eventually settled on Dschang,[...]

Helping People See True Potential

On the left, there is a graphic of a girl wearing a yellow dress and standing on a white pillar. To her right large white and orange text reads "She can thrive."Impaired vision can cause long-lasting challenges for children and adults throughout their lives. In childhood, poor vision will make it more difficult for a student to fully engage in the classroom and with her peers, putting her education at risk. This can[...]

Trachoma Eliminated as a Public Health Problem in Mali

A healthcare worker examines the eyes of a young person. They are standing outside in a village.The World Health Organization announced the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in Mali.  Though not the first country to eliminate trachoma, this milestone is particularly extraordinary due to the scale of the disease. A 1996 survey found[...]

From Vitamin A Skeptic to True Believer 

Young boy with mother and father.Four-year-old Abdoul Aziz Coulibaly was always sick, until his family discovered vitamin A. Abdoul is the youngest of four siblings living with their parents in a small village called Massala in south-central Mali. Though the family has limited financial[...]

Kindergartener’s worldview changes thanks to new eyeglasses 

GlassesWhen Prince, a new kindergarten student, entered P.S. 152 in Brooklyn, New York, he spoke Creole exclusively.   He wasn’t able to identify numbers, letters, or count past four. Our teachers were trying absolutely everything they could. Whitney[...]